Valve construction



Aug.22, 195o A. u. BRYANT VALVE CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 8, 1947 ii 4fVENTOFZ wE Z A Patented Aug. 22,-v 1950 VALVE CONSTRUCTION AustinUnfryan vBerkeley, Calif., assigner to 'Flud ControliEngineer'ing Co.,apartnership "zeppneationlnovemb-er s, ismserislfno..784;834 is claims.(015251-461) This linvention :relates generally to theconstruction ofvalves-of the typemakng vuseof `a valve i member movable in'opposite.directions between open and vclosed,positionsmelative toa-stationaryvalveseat-- i Many valves vof thefabove type ina-ke -use of metal `foriforming the-valve working surfaces. Aside from "the vtact ffthat `suchlymetal surfaces must be accurately formed and smoothly nished toprovide-an eectivegseal, it'isldiicult-to maintain such valves 4ingconditi'on for fluid-tightshutoff due to foreign material which mayV`findits Way between the valve Working surf aces or to -corrosion,fmutil ation fior --iwear of :the -ivalve --working surfacesfwhicbimaye'ccu 'In .order ftoprovide ia more` ,eieetive `duid-tight shut-off itlhas beenfpproposedtomtilizea member ofiresilientimaterialmounteduponthe-valve` seat., and i 'having` a peripheral surface 1 adapted 4tefengage fand seal :uponitheya-lve einem-ber. :Such a valve constructionis d-isclosedior `example -in Gannonapplication ASerial.tikaf-536,556,4lled mMaly 20, 1944, -noW .Patent No.` 22Q4S5g092 granted *October `L8,11949. fHowever fthe fconstruetionfas disclosed in said AGannon japplication fis :relatively diilicult to manufacture, r,particularlyinffthat `.it requires f aeeurate 4rnamufacture iand fassembly -ofathinvrubberannulus .which isfretained upon the inflow side-of thelseat.

,Aside lfrom va-Ives -of itheptypeidescribed `above yutilizing aresiilent member ,linfconiunction lwith a lmetal seat toai'dwiiluid-ftight shut-oirthere has been f-nofsatisiactory Way-,finthapast to remcva'blyimount afzmetalfseat einem the body of a valve ofthesglo'be-orglpoppettype- Soldering or brazing f oi the ,ring mithin-fthe :valve "body is eiielcti-ve in `preventing f-leakage past the seatring, but it requires fa-specialibrazing.-operation during manu-facture,and `provides an assembly which doesnotfpermitready removal forserv-icing,` or replacingtheseat ring. Thesame applies to the useef aWeld seal between tlieseat ring and Athe body. Threadedconnections orthread ed. clamping devices, `which are sometimes used, are likewise`expensivel-toonanuiacture and as semble, and offer considerablediicultyyto ready replacement of the fring.

`It is anobject of the .presentinvention .to .provide anim-proved 'typeof ,valvez-seat assembly, incorporatinga memberotl-resilient materialwhich has a peripheral edge fportion jfor sealing-against the valveAmemberwand whichmember Iis constructed .andfmountedin a novel ;mannerto .fa

cilitate manufacture.

u EAnotlfler ,object of` the iirnuention is `to provide avalvefassemblywhich provides an eiectiveseal against yleakage ybetweenthe metal seat rimer-and the body, and which .permits ready removal #ofthe ring Yfor repair -f-or replacement.

Another 'objectief the invention is to *provide a; novel assembly forvalves of the above character which serves the vcombined purposesofzpreventingfleakagebetween vthe metal seat ring andlthe body, andtoprovid'e a iuid-tightseal with the valve member for-:closed positionof :the-same.

Additional objects 'of the invention will appear fromthefollowing-'description in which fthe preferred #embodiment has been fset -forth iin detail in conjunction 'with v'the accompanying drawing,

Referring `to, the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational Nvievv in section illustrating a *valve"construction incorporating thefp'resent invention.

`Figure .2'is'an exploded *vi-ew illustrating the relationshipbetvveenlthe seat ring and the member lformed of resi-lient materialwhichis vtted upon the same.

@Figure :3 .is an renlarged cross-sectional detail serving to show ltheNmanner in which ,a fuid` 25 ti-ghtfsealfis established between thevalvemember and the seat ring assembly.

'The-construction aslillustrated-in Figure 110i thevdrawingsconsists ofavalve body Il) having-ini oW-'andfoutfiowpasses H and l2, andrep-resentative fofr abody lsuch vas is used in the foonstruction` ofautomaticregulating valves, or `valves ofthe-manuallyoperated type. Thebody isjpr'o'- vided with an inner bore i3 adapted to receive the metaliseatwr'ing M. valvemember lfhaving a :conical valve Working `surfaceil, cooperates with the-ring andiis movable in opposite directions 1betvveen fopen .and closed positions. In the particularinstanceillustrated by Way of example, the valveunember is -rii'ountedupon theiupper'end of a fsleeive i8, which in turn'is slidablyitted'Withinztheb'odyclosure i9. This closure in lturn 3 is provided with aconical valve working surface 2S adapted to contact the surface I'I ofthe valve member I6.

The seat assembly includes a cup-shaped member 3l which is tted over themetal seat ring I4 on the inflow side of the same. As will be presentlyexplained the member 3I incorporates means which prevents leakagebetween the seat ring I4 and the body without interfering with readyremoval of the seat ring, and in addition it provides means forming aneffective seal between the seat ring and the valve member when thelatter is in closed position.

In the preferred construction of the member 3| shown in Figure 2, thesame consists of a ring 3 2 of suitable resilient material, such asnatural or synthetic rubber, together with a. substantially cylindricalshaped extension 33 from the ring 32, and a Substantially flat annulusL34. All of these portions 32, 33, 34 are formed integral and ofresilient material. It is desirable to provide a relatively rigidcup-shaped metal member 38 with its inner surfaces bonded to theportions 33 and 34. The parts just described are dimensioned to ltsnugly over the cylindrical surface 31 of the seat ring I4, with thering 32 brought into engagement with the annular shoulder 38. Ring 32 isdimensioned in such a manner that when fitted within the bore I3 of thebody as illustrated in Figure 1, it is compressedssomewhat in a radialdirection, the degree of compression being sufficient to insure auid-tight seal at all times. Ring 32 may be contoured to provide a rightangle corner portion 39, which is presented to the pressure in the inowpassage Il, or this portion may be rounded.

The annulus 34 can be dimensioned substantially as illustrated in Figure3. It has an inner peripheral edge provided with a conical shapedsurface 4I adapted to contact the surface I'i of the valve member. Itwill be noted that surface 4I extends inwardly a slight amount withrespect to the projected cone of surface 29, whereby when the Valvemember moves to full closed position, surface 4I engages surface Ilimmediately prior to bringing the surfaces I'i and 29 into engagement.Bringing surfaces I'I and 29 into contact necessarily causes somecompression of the inner peripheral portion of the annulusf34, but suchcompression does not cause a pinching of the rubber, because thecompressed rubber may expand into the adjacent annular cavity 42.

In practice the member 3l can be formed complete by a suitable moldingoperation with molds of proper accuracy. The metal member 36 can beapplied in the mold, in order to insure a proper bond during curing ofthe rubber.

Operation and use of the improvement described above can be explained asfollows: In manufacturing the valve the member 3| is fitted upon themetal seat ring I4, and this assembly is then inserted into the bore I3of the valve body with the outflow side of the seat ring in abutmentwith the annular shoulder 28. This operation requires relatively littleeffort and can be a simple manual assembly operation without specialtools. After being positioned in this manner frictional engagement ofthe resilient ring 32 with the body and the metal seat ring retains theseat in place. Fitting of the member 3| upon the seat ring brings theresilient annulus 34 into proper position upon the inilow side of theseat ring, with the surface 4| properly 4 ber I6. Therefore a uid-tightseal is maintained with respect to the valve member when the latter isin full closed position. The resilient ring 32 not only frictionallyretains the seat ring in place,

5 but also resists relatively high fluid pressure differentials. Thepressure differential from the inflow side presses against the ring 32and more effectively urges the surfaces of this ring into sealingcontact with the bodyl and the seat ring.

Thus the seat ring is effectively sealed with respect to the body.

It will be noted that the bore I3 below the resilient ring 32 is madedivergent or flared as indicated at 43. This serves the useful purposeof preventing injury to the valve in the event a relatively high backpressure is applied to the same. For example if back pressure should besufficient to urge the seat ring assembly downwardly relative to thebody, the resilient ring 32 will be temporarily withdrawn from sealingcontact with the bore I3, thus preventing the displacement of this ringrelative to the metal seat ring I4. Thereafter, when normal conditionsare restored, pressure upon the inow side will return the assembly tonormal position.

The improvement described above is applicable to a wide variety o1"valves and regulating devices. It greatly facilitates removal of a seatring for repair and replacement. Because of the relatively loose fit ofthe seat ring, distortion of the body may occur without accompanyingdistortion of the ring.

I claim:

l. In a, valve construction of the type making use of a seat ring ttedin a, valve body and a valve member movable in opposite directions re1-ative to the seat ring to control flow of fluid through the orice of thesame, the improvement comprising a ring of resilient material serv- 4()ing to seal the seat ring against leakage between the ring and the body,and a member of resilient material formed integral with said rst namedring of resilient material and arranged to seal upon the valve memberwhen the valve member is moved to closed position relative to the seatring, said last named member being of a wall thickness substantiallyless than the seal ring and. having a portion extending inwardly on theinflow end face of the seat ring which presents an inner circular edgefor sealing contact with the valve member.

2. In a valve construction of the type making use of a metal seat ringfitted in a valve body and a valve member movable in opposite directionsto control flow of fluid through the orioe of the seat ring, theimprovement comprising a seal ring of resilient material surrounding theseat ring and serving to seal against leakage between the seat ring andthe body, and a member of resilient material formed integral with thesaid ber being c-f substantially L-shaped cross-sectional contour with asubstantially planar portion on the inflow side of the seat ring, saidplanar portion presenting an inner circular edge for sealing contactwith the valve member.

3. In a valve construction ofl the type making use of a metal seat ringfitted in a valve body and a valve member movable in opposite directionsto control ilow of fluid through the orifice of the seat ring, theimprovement comprising a positioned to effectively seal upon the valvememseal ring of resilient material surrounding the seat ring and servingto sea1 against leakage between the seat ring and the body, 'and amember of resilient material formed integral with the said seal ring anddispo-sed upon the iniiow side of the seat ring to seal upon the valvemember when the latter is moved to closed position against the seatring, said last named member being substantially L-slraped incross-sectional contour with a substantially planar portion on the inowside of the seat ring, said planar portion presenting an inner lcircularedge for sealing contact with the valve member, and a metal retainingring substantially L-shaped in cross-sectional contour and fitted oversaid last named member on the inflow side of the seat.

AUSTIN U. BRYANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,060,748 Roberts Nov. 10, 19362,182,278 Brauer Dec. 5, 1939l 2,260,381 Kennon Oct. 28, 1941 2,263,750Willke Nov. 25, 1941 2,348,548 Koehler May A9, 1944

